Metabolic profile, obesity and overweight among Sri Lankan males with ischaemic heart disease: A single centre experience

Abstract

Introduction: Obesity is a significant risk factor for ischaemic heart disease (IHD). Asians who are not overweight or obese tend to have IHD and develop metabolic derangements in their early life. We investigated the presence of metabolic derangements and overweight and obesity in male patients with IHD in comparison to a control group.

Methods: Two hundred and six male patients with IHD at the Cardiothoracic Unit and the Coronary Care Unit and 103 male controls at the Surgical Units, Teaching Hospital Karapitiya were included. Demographic data, anthropometric measurements and blood samples were collected. World Health Organization (WHO) cut-off values defined for Asians were used to define obesity using body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC). Plasma glucose, serum lipids and high-sensitivity C-Reactive protein (hs-CRP) were estimated. Group comparison was done using appropriate statistical tests. Controlling for age (adjustments) was done for anthropometric variables and biochemical variables before comparison.

Results: The proportions with overweight or generalised obesity defined by BMI were not significantly different in both patient groups {patients with angiographically-proven coronary artery disease and first acute ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI)} compared to controls (all p > 0.05). However, the proportion of patients with central obesity was higher in patients with angiographically-proven coronary artery disease (p = 0.044), while a difference was not observed in patients with STEMI (p = 0.193). The mean concentration of plasma glucose, serum lipids and hs-CRP were significantly higher in patients compared to controls (all p <0.05).

Conclusions: Proportions of patients with overweight and generalised obesity were not significantly higher in both patient groups compared to controls. However, the proportion of patients with central obesity was significantly higher among patients with angiographically-proven coronary artery disease group compared to the controls.